First
by Dlbn
Summary: When Aoyagi Ritsuka awoke without his memories, everything was a first.
1. Hello

Dlbn: It's funny because this is also the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I own the idea, the plot, the doctor, and the doctor's mentioned boyfriend. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from writing in this category.

First Hello

Plum eyes opened, zapping almost all the strength from the body of the ten-year-old boy who owned them. The raven haired youth moaned gently and reached for his head. Neko ears twitched slightly atop his head as he felt a wire caress his cheek. He moved his arm to where he could see it and spotted a wire going into his arm; the end of a needle held down and hidden underneath the skin with whitish tape.

"Ritsuka?" A young male voice wondered gently. "Ritsuka, can you hear me?"

The confused teen looked around the room before his vision settled on a teenage male at the foot of his bed. Concerned plum eyes looked back at him as his raven neko ears and tail twitched. The teen's black hair was a little curlier then his felt. He was dressed in some kind of uniform by the looks of it; brown blazer and pants, a white shirt, and a bright yellow tie.

"Who…who are you…?" He wondered.

The elder's face fell as he raced to the side of the bed.

"You don't recognize me, Ritsuka?" the teen took his hand and rubbed soothing circles on the back of it.  
"Come on, that's not funny. It's me, Seimei." His other hand ran through the young boy's straight hair.

"Sei…mei…?" The boy asked. "Who are you…? Am I…am I Ritsuka…?"

Seimei nibbled on his bottom lip for a moment.

"Yeah, you're Ritsuka. I'm your big brother. We're brothers, Ritsuka. Don't you recognize me?"

He swallowed a visible lump in his throat as Ritsuka shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't…" Ritsuka replied meekly, fiddling with the edge of the blanket covering him.

"Hold on." Seimei ordered, before rushing out of the room.

Ritsuka took the time to get a good look at his surroundings. The room was a boring, plain white color on the walls and had a floor made up of a pattern of black and white squares. The bed he was in had metal bars up on the sides as if to prevent him from falling or climbing out on his own. The door to the room was ajar from Seimei rushing out, but he could see pale blue walls and matching tiles through it. There wasn't much else in the room aside from some beeping monitors that he was hooked up to, and some kind of medical instruments on the walls. It must have been a hospital room. The blandness of the room and the bright lights overhead were enough to give that away, even without looking at the rest of the place. The door opened wider and caught Ritsuka's attention as Seimei filed in with three other people; all adults without ears. One, a tall woman with long black hair past her shoulder blades rushed over to her and showered his face with kisses.

"Hey!" Ritsuka complained, trying it pull away. "Stop that!"

A blonde male about her height wearing a black suit without a tie pulled her away from him.

"He just woke up, Misaki, give him a break." He sighed.

Okay, so if Seimei was his brother, then were these two his parents? The man in the lab coat was most likely a doctor. He wore a stethoscope around his neck and carried a clipboard. There was a name sewn above the pocket on his white coat, but Ritsuka didn't care to read it.

"You're awake, Ritsuka." The redheaded doctor said. "How are you feeling?"

"…Confused…" Ritsuka muttered.

"Confused?"

"What am I doing here?" He looked at Misaki and the blonde. "Who are you?"

"Who are we?" The blonde huffed. "This isn't the time for games, Ritsuka. You know we're your mother and father."

"You are…?"

That's what he had assumed but the blonde didn't need to know that. He seemed agitated with him.

"He didn't recognize me either…" Seimei muttered.

"Well, that must have been some tumble you took for you to not remember." The doctor pushed his parents aside and shined a bright light in his eyes. "Other than confused, how are you?"

"I'm okay…my head hurts a little…"

"Probably from where you banged it when you fell."

"Fell?"

"We were playing in Yokohama and you tripped and hit your head." Seimei informed. "I thought you were alright because you could walk and talk, but you took a nap and then just didn't wake up…"

"Oh…" Ritsuka blushed for reasons he didn't really understand. "Sorry…"

"You had a concussion." The doctor stated. "You're lucky they brought you in here when they did. People shouldn't fall asleep with concussions. It's not good."

"Why not…?"

"Well…you could slip into a coma and never wake up…unlike you who slipped into a coma and were lucky enough to wake two weeks later."

His mother was crying now, her face buried in the blonde's suit. He wasn't holding onto her as if he didn't really care that she was upset and didn't desire to show her any comfort. Ritsuka wondered why. Did his parents not love each other anymore? Or was it just his father?

"So what's the deal with the memory?" The blonde wondered. "Why doesn't he recognize anyone?"

"Your son was in a _coma_ , Aidien. I'm not surprised that some of his memories may not be…" He trailed off as his eyes met Seimei's. He cleared his throat. "People have varying degrees of amnesia after waking from a coma. It could be selective, could be long term. There's no knowing how long it will last."

"So he may get his memories back soon, or he could never remember. Is that it?"

That made his mother weep louder and his father roll his eyes at her.

"Pretty much, hai." He nodded.

His father sighed. "Such a hassle…"

Seimei glared. "It's not like he chose this…"

"Hold your tongue, Seimei." His father ordered.

Ritsuka could sense the tension in the room as it crushed down on him from all sides and angles. There was definitely something strange about his family. They didn't seem like much of a family it all. His father didn't bother to comfort his mother, and Seimei was looking at both of them like they were scum under his shoes. But why? Weren't families supposed to love one another? How strange.

"He's not wrong." The doctor told his father, seeming to scold him with his eyes. "I know this is hard for you to manage, Aidien, but don't be such an ass."

Aidien rolled his eyes. "Can you fix him? You're a neurosurgeon, aren't you?"

"You know the answer to that." The doctor replied. "Amnesia can't just be 'cured'. It's not like he's going to one day wake up and suddenly remember everything and wonder why you're all so relieved."

"What can we expect…?" Seimei stood on the side of Ritsuka's bed opposite his parents. "What if he never remembers…?"

"Don't say that, Seimei!" His mother cried, glaring at him from under her hair. "He'll remember…it's possible, isn't it…?"

"I'm not entirely certain how severe the amnesia is, Misaki." The doctor explained with a hint of sadness in his voice. "It may take him a few days to remember everything, maybe a few years. Every case is different, regardless of the level of severity."

"So what can you do for it? Put him on medicine to improve his memory or something?"

"He's a child." The doctor scolded. "I'm not medicating him just to make you happy. Drugs like that may or may not help. Once again, it all depends on the individual person and circumstances."

"If it's what will work…"

"I don't know if it's what will work. I have to talk to him first and see how much he remembers."

"So we're going to be stuck here for a little longer then, hm?" Aidien sighed. "I have to get back to work in half an hour, so I'm afraid it will just be the three of you."

"Good." Seimei muttered, but Ritsuka was certain their father didn't hear it over the doctor's agitated voice.

"I came all the way here from Gora as a favor to _you_ , Aidien." The doctor informed. "Don't be an ungrateful prick, because I can turn right around and go back whenever I feel like it. Just let me do my job. Come back once work is over if you have to go. Give my poor head a rest before I force my _self_ into a coma just to escape you."

"You mean like Mirai?"

"Watch it." The doctor growled, all but shouting at him. "Get out so I can talk with my patient, would you?"

Aidien huffed. "Fine." He stated. "Misaki, a word?"

He pulled her out by the wrist. Ritsuka could see words dying on Seimei's tongue as he was about to shout after them but settled for waving his hand at them as if to excuse them.

"Sorry about that." The doctor muttered. "I'm not normally so rude, but he's a pain in my ass. Always has been."

"I'm aware." Seimei stated. "I'm guessing it's safe to say the feeling's mutual. "Ritsu isn't too fond of him either."

"Your father's a coward." The doctor sighed and gave Ritsuka a pained, yet comforting smile. "But enough about him. Let's talk about you, Ritsuka. What do you remember before waking up here?"

"Well…nothing…" Ritsuka admitted softly, thinking about it for a few minutes. "I don't remember falling or nap time…or anything. I'm just here and I don't know how I got here…"

There was a commotion in the hallway that made the doctor pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Ignore it, Tai…" He ordered himself under his breath.

"Father?" Seimei asked.

"Most likely." He nodded. "Okay let's start with some simple questions then. What's your name?"

"Seimei says it's Ritsuka."

"Ritsuka what?"

"I…I don't know…"

"And how did you know Seimei's name?"

"He told me his name."

"Alright." He wrote in his notebook. "Alright, what I'm going to do is tell you my name. When I'm done questioning you, I'll ask you if you remember it, okay?"

"Okay." Ritsuka nodded.

"What good will that do?" Seimei cocked an eyebrow.

"To test his short term memory. I'm giving him new information and asking for it at a later time to see if his short term memory has been affected. It may just be the long term."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning he can hang onto and understand new memories, but not old ones."

"I see…"

"My name is Asitai." The doctor informed. "Can you repeat that?"

"Asitai…?" Ritsuka wondered, a bit hesitant with pronunciation.

"Okay good. Now I'll ask you some simple questions okay? Where do you live Ritsuka? In what city?"

"Um…"

Ritsuka thought as hard as he could but he just couldn't come up with a name. He shrugged instead.

"Kyoto." Seimei explained.

"How old are you?" The doctor asked.

"Um…I think I'm…I don't know…" Ritsuka played with the blanket again. "Since I had to take a nap, I must be really young…um…seven…?"

"Ten." Seimei corrected.

"Oh, ten…"

"How old is Seimei?"

"Older than me…?"

"Good." The doctor made a note of that.

"I'm fifteen." Seimei stated. "I'm five years older than you."

"And who were those two people who were just in the room with us?"

"Um…Aidien and…Misaki…?"

"But who are they to you?"

"Um…my parents maybe?"

"Right." Asitai smiled and wrote on his clipboard again. "You go to school, Ritsuka?"

"I think so…don't all kids go…?"

"Yes, they do. What school are you in?"

"I don't know…"

"Kyoto Public School." Seimei corrected.

"What's your favorite subject?"

Ritsuka shrugged.

"He likes art." Seimei said. "How many more of these questions are you going to ask?"

Asitai ignored him. "What's your favorite color, Ritsuka?"

"…I don't know…but I don't like this white…" He pointed to the walls.

Seimei smirked while the doctor laughed.

"Thank you for the input. I'll be sure to consult with our interior designer about it." He laughed.

Ritsuka smiled gently.

"Okay last question. What's my name?"

"…Asitai…?"

"Very good." The doctor smiled and wrote on the clipboard. "It seems like your short term memory is alright, but not long term."

"He basically remembers nothing from the past ten years. Just waking up here."

"Right." Asitai said softly. "I'm sorry…"

"You didn't do it…" Ritsuka informed, yawning.

"I know." Asitai stated. "Seimei, a word, please?"

"Certainly."

Seimei kissed Ritsuka's temple and left the room with him, shutting the door behind him and leaving Ritsuka all alone in the room with the walls whose color he didn't like.

000

Out in the hall, Seimei made sure the door was shut before walking down a little hallway to benches with Asitai and sitting there.

"Explain what really happened. You're too smart to not know the signs of a concussion or to think to get him taken to a doctor." Asitai stated.

"He followed me and overheard an order I gave my Fighter." Seimei admitted. "He was about to run off but I had him stop him with a spell. He fell and hit his head, so I had my Fighter use a spell to erase his memories."

"You mean Soubi?" Asitai asked. "He surely would have reported it to…"

"My real fighter, not that idiot Agatsuma."

"Real…I see…" Asitai sighed. "If you hadn't made him erase his memories, he might not be in this condition, are you aware of this? That spell was created by Soubi's mother, and only he and his mother are strong enough to use it properly. To have your Fighter use it was idiotic."

"What was I supposed to do? Let him remember and blab it?"

"You could have taken him to Soubi and had him do it himself."

"And in the meantime he could've said something to our parents or anyone else. Think, Asitai. Anonymity is everything for Septimal Moon and the world it governs."

"You're a member of Septimal Moon." Asitai informed. "If word got out from your brother because of you, you wouldn't be punished for it like anyone else would have. We would have just swept it under the rug and used Soubi to cast the spell to make the people that Ritsuka told forget about it. Easy. But no, you had to go off and do things on your own, and look what's happened. Poor kid. I'm not even certain he'll ever regain his memories without a counter spell."

"So I get my Fighter close enough to him to cast a counter spell. Simple."

"As simple as you are." Asitai snapped. "There _isn't_ a counter spell. Iyani never made one before she passed."

"I'll make Soubi do it."

"You don't understand. Soubi is powerful, hai, and can use that spell because his mother did. Your real Fighter wouldn't be able to cast it once Soubi creates it. If he tries, the results could be disastrous."

"So what do I do? Let him live the rest of his life with _zero_ memory of the first _ten years_ of his life?"

"Maybe you should've considered this before using your Fighter in that manner." Asitai stood. "If you'll excuse me, I should go tell your mother my results, since I'm certain Aidien ran off with his tail between his legs like he always does."

Seimei didn't argue the point as he stood and followed Asitai. Once he reached Ritsuka's room, he went in as the doctor continued to the nurse's station to ask about the brothers' mother. Inside the room, Ritsuka was still looking all around, as if the answer to unlocking his memories existed somewhere inside.

"Hey." Seimei greeted.

"Hi, Seimei…" Ritsuka stated, eyes landed on his brother's face as he stopped looking around. "What did the doctor say?"

"He says he thinks you're going to make a full recovery. It will just take time." Seimei lied, unable to tell his dear baby brother the truth.

"He did?" Ritsuka grinned.

"He did." Seimei smiled and sat next to him. "But you know what this means?"

"What…?"

"It means someone is going to have to teach you everything you used to know." Seimei stated. "So you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together from now on. After all, who better to teach you then your big brother?"

Ritsuka smiled. "I'd like that, Seimei, thank you."

"Of course."

It was the least he could do after stealing his brother's life from underneath him.


	2. House

Dlbn: Hello everyone and welcome!

Nbld: This got better reception then we thought so let's get cracking. First the review corner! Thank you to Promocat, Maki-Sensitivity, Sycocat, and Fizzydrink101 for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Promocat: Thanks! I haven't ready any that come around right at this point either (nothing wrong with that at all! ;) I've read most of the ones on here, plus on other sites as well ^^"). I figured Seimei might have something to do with it, which would explain his rather disturbing need to protect his brother from his mother and basically everything else. He's also involved with them Pre-Septimal Moon in my other story Careless. That's the timeline I work off of mostly now.

Maki-Sensitivity: Nope XD He thinks he's so smart but really he's a fool in some ways. I mean he can't be totally stupid because he managed to fake his own death and get away with numerous murders, after all (SPOILER as hinted in the manga). They're adorable together even if Seimei's devotion/attraction to his brother is questionable

Sycocat: Aw hope it wasn't a bad hit to home :/ more coming up!

Fizzydrink101: They're just adorable. I hope they figure things out and stay together in the series, too.

000

First House

A few days after Ritsuka awoke from his short-lived coma, he followed Seimei and his parents into a light brown two story home in Kyoto. The grass was bright green and the windowsills and door were painted the same color as the ugly walls in the hospital room. The inside was moderately decorated with only the necessities in neutral tones that all but blended with the off-white walls and ugly brown carpet. His father walked off down a hall and he heard a door slam as his mother left the boys alone with promises of a nice meal.

"Come on." Seimei told Ritsuka, offering him his hand. "Let's go see your room, okay? That's most important."

"Okay."

Ritsuka took his hand and followed Seimei up the staircase in front of him, hand gripping onto the railing as he slowly took the stairs. While his memories seemed to be the only thing affected, according to the doctor, some of his motor skills needed a little work after being out of use for two weeks. Ritsuka followed Seimei down a hallway with the same walls and carpet as the room downstairs. Seimei opened the third brown door on the left. He let Ritsuka go inside. The walls were painted a faint blue color that was only a shade or two darker than the walls of the hospital hallways. The only items in the room were a bed with a blue blanket on it and a pillow covered by a blue pillowcase, and a desk littered with papers and school supplies. A blue backpack was lying at the side of the desk with papers and a book spilling out of it. It looked like a child's room, even though there weren't any toys inside. Maybe they were all inside the big wooden chest under the window that he hadn't noticed when he first walked in. after all, it said 'TOYS' on it in bold colored letters.

"Is this my room?" Ritsuka wondered, walking in.

He ran his hand against the wall and brushed his fingers over a light switch as he slowly made his way around the room. He took in every color and every sight, all the smells and the noises coming from downstairs and the fan swirling lightly on the white ceiling above.

"This is your room." Seimei confirmed, nodding. "Mine is right next to yours. Your room is the third door, mine is the second."

Ritsuka nodded. "Okay."

He didn't remember any of this, but judging by the colors inside, he was pretty certain his favorite color was blue. After all, it was everywhere. Ritsuka opened the closet to see a bunch of clothing of various colors and textures inside. From jeans to pajama bottoms and shirt sleeved shirts to long sleeved ones, the closet was full of every type of clothes he could ever imagine he'd need throughout the year.

"Seimei…are we friends…?" He wondered, looking over his shoulder.

"Of course we're friends, Ritsuka. We're more than friends. We're brothers." Seimei smiled gently. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought siblings don't get along with each other…"

"Some don't, but we're not like that. We're very close."

"Okay." Ritsuka smiled gently. "You know, if you think about it…this is really weird."

"What's weird?"

Ritsuka shut the closet and walked to his bed, where he plopped down on the edge of it.

"This is my first time in a house…my first time having my own room that's all mine…" He smiled gently. "And you're my first friend."

Seimei smiled gently back. "Yes…best friends."


	3. Fight

Dlbn: Welcome to another chapter everyone! Since I've got a huge stress migraine from homework in my online class that makes absolutely no sense, we'll get right to things.

Nbld: Like the Review Corner! Thank you to Fizzydrink101 and Promocat for reviewing! Cookies for you both!

Fizzydrink101: I'm gonna try to update every week ^^ Seimei's always fishy lol but then with Soubi, even if he realizes it, he can't/won't do anything about it. Seimei's half feeling guilty, half being a…well…being a psycho lol

Promocat: Exactly. Now he can mold Ritsuka into someone that he can use later on. So Seimei.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything. Everything belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category. It's just for fun

000

First Fight

Ritsuka wasn't certain what was going on, but he didn't like it. A few days after returning home, he sat in his closet under the jeans with the doors shut and his hands covering his human ears. His tail wrapped around his leg and his neko ears pressed flat against his skull to block out the screaming and shouting coming from one floor below. His father had come home early and he and his mother had started yelling. He'd only been home about half an hour, but they'd been shouting ever since. Ritsuka knew it was about him, since he heard his name once or twice in the mix. What did he do? Did he do something wrong? It was this amnesia, wasn't it? It was because he didn't remember anything that they were yelling. This was too much for them, and it was selfish of him to expect them to just deal with it. That was it, wasn't it? That's why they were yelling. Last night he'd used the bathroom and accidentally went into their room instead of his when he was done and woke them up. His father was red faced and obviously angry with him, but his mother urged him to let it go and sent Ritsuka to his own room. Maybe if he hadn't made such a stupid mistake, they wouldn't be yelling right now.

Oh where was Seimei? Since Ritsuka was still recovering, he hadn't started school up again. But Seimei still had to go. He promised he got out of class at three and would come right home from there. Ritsuka didn't have any way to tell time in the closet, but it sure felt like Seimei was late. But he promised…maybe he didn't want to be around Ritsuka either. Maybe trying to bring back his memory and teach him everything was too much for him. His parents didn't seem to like him, so maybe Seimei didn't either. Tears streaked down pale cheeks from plum eyes as he thought to himself.

"Seimei…where are you?" He wondered. "I'm sorry, Seimei, please don't leave me alone…I'm sorry mom and dad…please stop fighting…please…"

He barely registered the front door opening and shutting as it did so.

"I'm sorry…" He muttered, repeating himself over and over again.

"Ritsuka?" A voice called into his room as the door opened. "Are you in here?"

Ritsuka clasped his hands over his mouth as muffled sobs ripped from his throat. The closet door opened, light blinding him for a moment, to reveal his brother silhouetted against the light that hadn't been in the tiny room before.

"Ritsuka, what are you doing in here?" Seimei turned his face up and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Oh, Ritsuka. Poor baby, what happened?"

"They're yelling…they've been yelling for so long…where were you?!" Ritsuka launched himself into Seimei's arms, knocking the teen onto his rear in the bedroom.

Seimei caught him and let out an 'oof' as his butt hit the carpet covered floor.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka. My classmates acted up with a substitute yesterday and the principal came in after class and yelled at everyone. I couldn't leave." He rubbed soothing circles on Ritsuka's back.

"I thought you were mad at me…" Ritsuka sobbed, clutching to Seimei's shirt.

The elder brother had ditched his blazer and tie somewhere and was now clad only in the uniform pants and white button up shirt. The clasps on his wrists were undone.

"Mad at you?" Seimei wondered, surprise hitting his voice. "Why did you think that…?"

"Because you promised you'd come right home, but you were gone for so long…" Ritsuka sniffled. "And mom and dad are mad at me. That's why they're yelling…"

"What gave you that idea?"

"I heard my name…"

"Oh, poor Ritsuka. They're not mad at you."

Seimei pulled him back a little and forced him to look up at him. Eyes welled with tears and tear streaked cheeks made the elder brother's heart race. How dare they upset his Ritsuka in this way? What gave them the right?

"They're…not…?"

"No, they're not." Seimei replied. "Father just thinks you should go back to school soon, but mother thinks it's too soon, is all."

"Really…?"

Seimei nodded. "He thinks it's a good idea for you to be around kids your age and your friends. Mother thinks it's better if you stay here and rest a few more days. They both want what's best for you, that's all. It's nothing you did, okay? It will never be anything you did. Sweet boy, you've done nothing wrong." Seimei pulled him into a hug. "Nothing at all…"

Ritsuka sniffed. "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent."

The shouting downstairs died down as Ritsuka cried himself to sleep in his brother's comforting arms.


	4. Day of School

Dlbn: Here we are with another chapter! I know it's a little late, but I've been caught up with impossible school work and the dentist and such so I'm just getting to it now.

Nbld: So let's get on with it with the Review Corner! Thank you to Fizzydrink101, Promocat, and Sycocat2 for reviewing! Pocky for you all!

Fizzydrink101: They won't tie him up, I can say that without it being a spoiler. Seimei is always a mystery ;)

Promocat: He really is. But then again, he seemed to be that way in Ritsuka's flashbacks in the manga too, so I partially feel like it was done to gain his trust and love.

Sycocat2: Aw I'm sorry *hugs* I…I have no idea O.o I guess I just read between the lines as far as Ritsuka's manga and anime dialogue go

Disclaimer: I wo nothing but plot. All else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.

000

First Day of School

In the end, his father's argument had fallen through. Misaki had won the argument to keep him home until the following Monday so he could start school with a full week of it. Seimei had scolded them both for yelling like that and scaring Ritsuka. Their mother apologized over and over and just held him while she rocked back and forth. Their father muttered what sounded like an apology before leaving for his office.

Ritsuka sat at the desk that his sensei had pointed out to him as being his but didn't speak for the entire day. Seimei wouldn't get out until an hour after him, so he had waited on a picnic bench inside the school gates for his brother to come.

"What are you doing out here all alone, Ritsuka-kun?" His sensei wondered, sitting next to him. "Shouldn't you be going home?"

"I don't know where home is…" Ritsuka admitted. "Seimei is going to pick me up and walk me home so I don't get lost.

"You have a very good brother to be doing that for you."

"I do." Ritsuka grinned. "Seimei's the best."

"I can see."

She sat with him until Seimei came to pick him up; grading papers while her student stared through the gates to see if he could spot Seimei.

"Seimei!" He greeted, waving at his brother as he grabbed his backpack. "Bye, Sensei. See you tomorrow!"

"Goodbye, Ritsuka-kun!" She replied, beginning to pick up the papers so she could go as well.

"Hi, Seimei!" Ritsuka greeted, hugging his taller brother around his middle once he reached him. "I thought you were never coming."

Seimei smiled. "It's only three fifteen, Ritsuka." Seimei informed. "When do I get out of class?"

"At three!"

"Which means it took me how long to get here?"

"Um…fifteen minutes?"

"Good." Seimei ruffled his hair. "Now, who wants to go for ice cream to celebrate his first successful day back to school."

"Oh, me, me!" Ritsuka waved his arm and stood on his toes.

"I guess it's you, then, hm?" Seimei grinned, patting him on the head and offering him a hand. "Come on."

Ritsuka took it and hummed as they walked down the road.

"How was your first day back?"

"It was okay. School is kind of boring. We had a test today but I didn't have to take it since I wasn't there to go over the material we learned."

"So what did you do while the others took the test?"

"I read that book you gave me. I finished it."

"Well done, well done." Seimei praised. "What else happened today? Did you make any friends?"

Ritsuka frowned. "Well, these kids said we were friends, but I didn't remember." He shook his head. "They seem really nice, but I don't really need friends."

"What? Why not?" Seimei wondered. "Someone like you should be making friends left and right!"

Ritsuka laughed. "You're so _weird_ , Seimei!"

"Oh, if only you knew." Seimei smirked. "Why don't you need friends? You should play with those kids at recess or sit with them at lunch."

"I did sit with them at lunch. But I didn't want to fall and hurt my head again. I just sat on the picnic bench and finished the book. No one really paid any attention to me." He shrugged.

"That's very responsible of you, Ritsuka." Seimei said. "But I'm sorry they didn't pay attention to you."

"It's okay. I have you. I don't need to have friends when I have you, Seimei! You're my first friend, remember?" He grinned.

Seimei smiled back. "Hai, hai I am…but that doesn't mean you can't have other friends."

Ritsuka shrugged. "I guess they don't know how to handle the memory loss. They might think I'm weird or something."

"No one would think you're weird. I'm the weird one here, remember?" Seimei asked, pushing open the door to the ice cream parlor they'd reached.

"Yeah, you're right!" he giggled.

"Hello, boys!" The woman behind the counter greeted. "How are you this afternoon?"

"We're fine, ma'am, thank you." Seimei replied. "How are you?"

"I'm great! What can I get you two today?"

"Go on, Ritsuka." Seimei urged, pushing him towards the counter. "Get your favorite flavor."

"But…Seimei…I don't _remember_ my favorite flavor…"

Seimei frowned. "Oh…right…um one small chocolate and one small chocolate chip."

"Coming right up." The girl seemed confused as she smiled awkwardly and began making their cones.

Seimei traded her money for the ice cream. He handed Ritsuka the cone with white ice cream dotted with black.

"Let's sit outside. Gomen." Seimei told the woman.

"Don't be a stranger!" She ordered.

Seimei led Ritsuka outside as the younger neko waved goodbye at the worker. They sat at a table with an umbrella on it. Seimei gave Ritsuka some napkins.

"Don't get it all over your clothes or mother will be upset."

"You neither, Seimei."

He nodded, licking at the ice cream. Some bird chirped around them as they sat in silence and ate.

"Did you learn anything cool today?"

"Not really. We're doing long division in math."

"Oh? How is that going for you?"

Before Ritsuka always got grades that were so-so. He wondered if that had changed.

"It's great! I was the first to finish the work. We got to grade our own papers, and I got a hundred!"

"No way!" Seimei was surprised. "Let me see. You graded it yourself."

"I didn't cheat, Seimei, I really didn't!" He dug through his backpack to find the paper and hand it to Seimei.

Seimei looked it over closely for erasures but only found a few that corrected a four to make it look more like a four, and the same with a three.

"Well…well done…" He stated.

"I bet you get good grades too, don't you, Seimei?" Ritsuka asked.

"All the time." He handed it back and watched his brother carelessly shove it into his backpack and zip it up. "After all, we're brothers. We've got the same DNA; the same brains. We've both got to be smart and get good grades. Right?"

"Right!"

But the problem was, Ritsuka's grades were never good.


	5. Therapist

Dlbn: Welcome back to another chapter!

Nbld: Let's get right to it with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and giselleavellaneda09 for reviewing! Valentine's Day cookies and candy for you all!

Promocat: And realize it's all his fault maybe. Though he'll probably just blame Nisei as always.

giselleavellaneda09: Thank you!

000

First Therapist

It was a Wednesday afternoon when Seimei picked Ritsuka up at three and brought him to a tall building he didn't recognize.

"Where are we, Seimei?" Ritsuka asked, looking up at him.

"Mom and dad want you to see a specialist about your memory." Seimei stated. "She's a therapist."

"But…aren't therapists for crazy people…?"

"Ritsuka, that's not nice." Seimei scolded. "Plenty of people go to therapists who aren't crazy. People go to a therapist when they're having troubles and need someone to talk to. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Sorry…"

"It's okay. Come on."

Seimei pulled him inside. The lobby consisted of a waiting area with chairs, a set of elevators that went up and down, and a desk with a woman sitting behind it. Seimei led him to the desk.

"Excuse me." He greeted.

"What can I help you with, boys?" The secretary wondered.

"We need to find the Omori clinic, please."

"Take the elevators over there to the fifth floor."

"Thank you." Seimei bowed.

Ritsuka trotted after his brother. Inside the elevator, the little brother pushed a button with a big number five on it. The doors shut and the elevator went up.

"Are you going to go in with me, Seimei?"

"I have to wait in the waiting room up here, but I'll see you when you come out of the room. You have to talk to the therapist alone, okay?"

"O-Okay…"

The doors opened with a ding and led to a waiting room with a wall lined with chairs, a reception desk, a couple little tables with magazines on them, and a hall containing many doors. Ritsuka followed Seimei to the desk.

"Welcome!" The peppy woman on the other side greeted. "How can I help you?"

"My brother has an appointment at four. Aoyagi Ritsuka." Seimei replied.

She typed in the computer. "New patient? I'll have you fill out this medical history form." She handed him a clipboard and a pen. "Have a seat, and Dr. Katsuko will be with you shortly."

"Thank you."

The brothers sat down in two chairs. Ritsuka watched as Seimei filled out the paperwork for him.

"Reason for coming?" Seimei wondered.

"My memory!"

"Right." He nodded, writing down that and 'personality changes'.

"Personality changes…?"

"It means you're a little different now then you were before you lost your memories."

"Is that bad…?"

"Of course not! No matter what you're like, you're still Ritsuka."

"Ritsuka?" A female's voice greeted from the hallway. "I'm ready for you."

The woman smiled.

"Go on. I'll be right out here waiting, okay?" Seimei urged.

"Okay…" Ritsuka trotted after the woman, eyes downcast and tail pressed flat to his leg.

Seimei finished up the form as a door down the hall closed. At the desk, he slammed the clipboard down.

"What are you doing here, Kaido?" He asked.

"…What are _you_ doing here, Aoyagi…?" She wondered, grinning at him.

"Just answer my question."

"Our…employers…are concerned about your brother." She informed, lacing her fingers together. "They sent me to check up on you two. What better way to go it then to come to his therapy session?"

"Why do they care?"

"Well he's one of us, you know."

"What? Hai, I know he's a Sacrifice. But why do they care?"

"Your Fighter's little spell did some major damage, and they're concerned about how much damage he's done to him. Ritsuka is to take your place if anything happens to you…but he knows nothing about what you taught him, does he?"

"…"

"I take your silence to mean 'yes'." She grinned. "You see why this is troublesome?"

"How did they know about…Kunugi." Seimei groaned. "Stupid doctor. I didn't think he cared enough about Septimal Moon to tell them…"

"Ritsu wanted to know why you haven't been to meetings for the past couple months; since Ritsuka fell into his coma." She sighed. "So he opened his mouth, since he bothered to show up for once."

Seimei groaned. "Great…don't give them too much information."

"Of course not. We're friends, Seimei. Why would I tell them too much that they could one day use against you? I don't put anything past that corrupt group of fools."

Seimei blinked. "I'm glad we're in agreement."

The receptionist smirked.

000

Inside the office, Ritsuka sat on a couch against a wall while the therapist sat at a computer desk in the far corner. She crossed her legs and smiled at him.

"Greetings, Ritsuka." She greeted. "I'm Dr. Katsuko."

"Hi." He replied softly.

"Now, I know therapy can be intimidating, so if there's anything I can do to make you more comfortable, let me know, alright?"

"Can you let Seimei sit in here with us…? Please…?"

"I'd love to do that for you, Ritsuka, but doctor-patient confidentiality laws say I can't release information to anyone but your parents. Now if you want one of them to be in here…"

"No…all they do is fight."

She frowned. "Well that's not good."

He shrugged.

"So why are you here Ritsuka?"

"I woke from a coma and didn't know anything…they don't know if I'll ever get my memory back…Seimei says I'm different now then I used to be, but he says that's okay because no matter what, I'm good just the way I am. But I don't know…"

"Why don't you know?"

"The kids at school don't like me now. I think they're afraid of me because they don't know how to deal with my memory loss…"

"Well that's truly a shame. Kids can be cruel sometimes."

"Yeah…"

"But I bet you're a nice boy, Ritsuka." She smiled. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, okay?"

"Okay…" Ritsuka smiled gently as the therapist typed information into her computer. "Can you get my memory back…?"

She paused in typing to smile at him. "We're going to do our best, okay? You and me are going to work together and try to bring those memories back for you. Okay?"

"Thank you." Ritsuka smiled.

Maybe this therapy thing wasn't so bad after all.


	6. Hit

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome to another chapter! A day early but I'll be busy with my boyfriend and with a Bachelorette party tomorrow. (Not mine. One of my best friends is getting married finally in a few weeks) So I figured no harm in updating now since the IT woman at work hooked up my laptop and cell up to the Wi-Fi. Finally I won't be bored during my 'sit on your ass and guard the building from the closing gate and the pizza guy' shifts at work. I do security and all I have to do is go out back once an hour and check for trespassers so the rest is just busy time.

Nbld: Shut up. Let's get to the Review Corner. Thank you to promocat for reviewing! Pie for you!

Promocat: I like his therapist. Even though some people call it 'creepy' how she acts with him in the manga, I think it's nice he has a therapist he can talk to and trust. Since there aren't a lot of people in his life he can trust in the first place.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing in this category.

First Hit

Ritsuka cried out in pain as his mother's hand swatted across his left cheek. She'd started taking medicines a doctor had given her, and she'd been acting weird ever since. Ritsuka didn't understand what he did wrong. She offered him a snack, and when he took it, she lashed out. This was strange. Everyone was always tiptoeing around him and being all sensitive and caring. This was the first time anyone had lashed out at him in anger.

"What…what was that for…?" He whimpered.

"My son would _never_ eat that." She pointed to the food he'd dropped. "Ritsuka only likes chocolate chip cookies. Not chocolate."

"O-Oh…" Ritsuka paused.

She must have meant that he had liked only chocolate chip before he lost his memory.

"I'm sorry, mother. I'll only eat chocolate chip from now on…they're my favorite."

She grinned happily, a contrast to how angry she had been before. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka." She held him and handed him some chocolate chip cookies from the table. "Go do your homework, okay?"

He nodded and did as he we told; sitting on the couch and opening his backpack to take out his homework folder. The door opened and Seimei walked in. He took off his shoes and placed them neatly by the door before smiling at his brother.

"How was school, Ritsuka?" He wondered, sitting next to him.

"It was okay."

"Any new friends?"

"No."

"You'll have plenty in no time…why is your cheek all red?"

"Oh…I took a nap on the couch when I got home. Guess I was lying on that side." Ritsuka laughed, rubbing his cheek.

"Alright." Seimei pulled out his homework.

Ritsuka returned to his. He couldn't tell Seimei what had happened. Seimei would have just said it was his fault and that he deserved it. After all, if his own mother thought he deserved it, then maybe she was right.


	7. Friend

Dlbn: What the hell? I haven't updated since then? Not a surprise since I've been dealing with a lot of crap, but still what the hell?

Nbld: Pathetic. We were actually keeping up with this one…

Dlbn: Looks like we're only two weeks behind schedule so it's not too bad. We'll keep this updated more frequently now, though.

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you to Fizzydrink101, promocat, Maki-Sensitivity, halbarath, and ginselleavellaneda09 for reviewing! Green eggs and ham for you all!

Fizzydrink101: Yup, this is right about when she starts to go crazy.

Promocat: Strangely enough, Seimei said he'd take her and Ritsuka away with him instead of just killing her for some reason. Probably to manipulate her. Soubi's even tried to tell him it isn't his fault, I think, but he just won't listen. Then again, he did say he'll let her beat him if it makes her feel better, just as long as she doesn't leave him like Seimei and his father.

Maki-Sensitivity: At this point he's still ashamed of it and that's why he won't tell Seimei. Plus, he's probably certain it's just a one-time thing. Poor naïve, Ritsuka. Seimei will figure it out later on. He's just confused and devastated by everything. He takes anything and everything so personal :/

Halbarath: He's probably going to do something to her in the long run out of revenge, but you never know. If I were him, I'd deal with her head on and put a stop to it. His mother or not, she has no right to hit the poor boy.

Ginselleavellaneda09: I really don't know what her issue is, but she snaps at almost everything. Poor Ritsuka needs some cuddles *cuddles Ritsuka*

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Loveless or anyone/anything from it. I only own the plot. The rest belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.

000

Partner projects were the worst. While everyone else in the class teamed up in groups of two or three, Ritsuka just sat there at his desk, alone, staring at the board as if it was going to be his partner. He was the only kid in class without friends. He felt someone tap his shoulder and looked up. A girl in the school uniform was grinning at him from where she stood behind him. He'd been back a week and a half already and he'd never seen her there before. He'd heard her talking with some girls earlier in the morning about a vacation she took with her family. That must have been where she was.

"Hey, Ritsuka." She greeted. "Miss me?"

"Don't bother, Kimizuka." A girl informed her. "He doesn't remember anything."

"Huh?" The girl looked at Ritsuka. "Well, no matter. Wanna work together?"

"You want to work with me…?" He was surprised. "Sure…"

"Great." She sat backwards on a chair in front of him. "So what's this whole not remembering stuff about, hm? Where've you been?"

"Um…"

"Come on, you can tell me. We're friends." She stated.

"We are…?"

"I _told_ you he doesn't remember anything." The girl laughed before turning back to her group.

"What is she talking about…?"

"Um…I was in a coma…and I…I don't have any memories of…you know…before…s-sorry….Kimizuka…"

"Oh, don't you call me that. It's Osamu to you." She grinned. "Osamu and Ritsuka, remember? Oh, right…sorry…you should come back to photography club. Its Thursdays after school."

"Oh…sure…?"

She grinned. "Great! Oh, and since you don't remember stuff, I'll help you learn everything."

"Seimei's already helping me with that…"

"Yeah, but he doesn't go to school here, right?"

"No…he's in high school…"

"Exactly." Osamu seemed proud of herself. "So he doesn't know all the secrets about this place, right? So I can help you with that. And I'll help you get back into photography club, deal?"

"Yeah, deal."

"Great. Let's get to work before Sensei gets on our cases. Alright, friend?"

"Yeah…friend…"

000

After school, Osamu waited with Ritsuka at the picnic table for Seimei to pick him up. She was laughing as she tried to explain to him something about the Photography Club that he didn't think was really all that funny. He sighed and placed his chin in his hands as he looked for Seimei.

"Say, Osamu?" He wondered. "Why do you still want to be friends with me?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, stopping her laughter.

"Well…everyone else acts all weird around me now since I don't remember a lot of things. But I'm trying to learn them again, I promise. And I go to a therapist now to try and get them back, too." He prattled on. "But you have no problem being around me and helping me remember, too. Why?"

"Well, we're friends, aren't we? And what kind of a friend lets their friend suffer in silence?"

"Well, I don't…"

"Exactly; a horrible one. Look, most people don't want to be around me either because my father's the police chief in Kyoto." She informed, leaning back on her palms as she was sitting on top of the top part of the table. "But you still wanted to be friends with me after you found out. Why would I stop being friends with you? We understand one another. People act weird around you because you lost your memory, people act weird around me because of my father. Us weirdoes have to stick together."

"I guess so." He shrugged. "You're just…you're my first friend outside of Seimei and…"

"I gotcha. It's weird, isn't it? And I've been gone on vacation and just got back, so it's like I'm a new kid at school you've never seen before. Only I know your name and a lot about you."

Ritsuka flushed. "Really…"

"You once knew a lot about me, too. Guess I'll just have to refresh your memory about that, too."

"Guess so."

"Ritsuka?" Seimei's confused voice called from the gate. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, hi, Seimei!" Ritsuka greeted, waving. "Sorry, Osamu, I'd better go."

"Alright. Thanks for the talk and being my partner today." She gently slugged him on the shoulder, which he'd learned was her way of showing her appreciation. "I'll see you tomorrow. Talk with Seimei about the club, okay? It gets out at three, so it gives you something to do while you wait for him. It's on Thursdays only, remember?"

"I remember. Thanks for everything, Osamu."

She flushed. "You're welcome, Ritsuka."

He rushed to Seimei's side. "Sorry about that, Seimei."

"Oh, it's alright." Seimei led him down the street. "Who's that?"

"That's Osamu. She just got back from vacation with her family."

"Oh?"

"Yeah just in time, too! We had a partner project to do today, and I would have been on my own or forced into a group by sensei if she hadn't been there and asked to be partners."

"That's very nice of her."

"Yeah, it is. And guess what, Seimei?"

"What?"

"She's my friend! I finally have a friend!" Ritsuka laughed.

"See? I told you it was only a matter of time."

"Uh huh." He nodded. "She even asked me if I could go to Photography Club with her…it's on Thursdays only, but it ends at three, so I'd be done when you get out of school and we can still walk home together!"

"That sounds great, Ritsuka." Seimei nodded. "Mention it to mother and father. Maybe you'll make even _more_ friends."

"Yeah, maybe." Ritsuka grinned. "Hey, Seimei?"

"Yes?"

"Remember how I said I don't need friends?"

"I do. I'm not the one with the memory problem." He ruffled Ritsuka's hair.

"Hey!" The amnesiatic neko complained. "Well, I was wrong. Having you as my friend is great! I'm glad you were my first friend."

"I'm glad as well, Ritsuka."

"But I guess I do need friends. After all, who would I do group projects with if I didn't have any?"

Seimei grinned. "Right. Now, who's ready for some ice cream to celebrate?"

"Me! Me!"


	8. Photo

Dlbn: I'm back with a new chapter! Time to get back to updating this once a week. Can't believe I slacked off like that…

Nbld: Even though we missed last week. Anyway, Review Corner time. Thank you to Promocat, halbarath, and giselleavellaneda09 for reviewing. Colored eggs and Shamrock shakes for you all!

Promocat: It's pretty scary to imagine that Seimei was once this sweet, protective, loving brother and yet now he's this big old murdering sociopath/psychopath. We get scared by it, but imagine how Ritsuka felt when he first found out. His world was torn apart.

Halbarath: I feel like Osamu didn't get a lot of love in the series, since she only appeared that one time in an extra. I like her as a character, though, so I try to use her if I can. I think that he knows who Osamu is, but he probably didn't make an effort to get to really know her because he felt like she was getting in the way of his perfect world. He wants to know what Ritsuka is able to pick up on and understand so he can find a way to control/manipulate that.

Giselleavellaneda09: She seems to be the only real friend he had at his old school. I mean, she _is_ the only one that's ever made an effort to find him after he moved away.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anything canon to it. That all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of this.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to the release of scanlations of Loveless chapter 126 by the scanlating group Kamibana. It's not an official scanlations, so it's on their LiveJournal along with all the other original updates. I read it and was so excited I almost crapped myself. No, I didn't really almost crap myself, but it's a good way to describe it. Such a great chapter…

000

Ritsuka's parents had been more than okay with him joining the Photography Club that week. His therapist had been enthused when Seimei brought him to her the day before, as well. Even Seimei seemed happy about it. Maybe it was because it meant he was doing something he used to do before he lost his memories-according to Osamu, anyway-and they thought it might help with his memories.

He sat with Osamu as their club director, another fourth grade teacher, instructed them on what their next project would be. It was for the school arts fair at the end of the month, and he was going to showcase everyone's work. They had to take pictures of things that made them happy and make a collage of them. Osamu told him she'd be happy to help him remember the things he used to like before and teach him how to make a collage with photos of those and the things he liked now. Once dismissed, the friends walked around the school to find things they liked. They could do some at home, too, but for now all they had to work with was the school and the playground areas.

"You know what's fun?" Osamu wondered. "Making a scrapbook."

"Really?" Ritsuka wondered. "What's that?"

"It's like a photo album, but _way_ more cool. You put photos with a common theme together on a page and add stickers and letters and draw all kinds of things for decorations." Osamu stated. "My mother taught me how to make one when you stopped coming to school. I'll show you how to make one."

"Okay." Ritsuka smiled. "Sounds fun."

He didn't know if he was artsy like Osamu was, but it would be fun to try. After all, they had to have _something_ in common. Being friends and all.

"What makes you happy, Osamu?" Ritsuka wondered.

"What makes _me_ happy? I'm here to help you, not for you to help me! Remember?" She slugged his shoulder. "Actually, there is one cool thing here at school that makes me happy. Want to see?"

"Sure!"

She pulled him by the arm through the front doors and they rounded the school. There was a mesh wire covering a hole in the underside of the building, but it looked like it had been chewed through.

"What's in there?"

"Just look." Osamu pointed.

Inside was a fluffy white bunny with a bunch of smaller bunnies around her; some white, some brown, and some a mixture of the two.

"Bunnies?"

"Aren't they cute?" Osamu wondered. "This rabbit started burrowing under here last year with a different group of babies. We found them once when we were exploring. She's come back quite a few times since then. I think this is the biggest group of bunnies I've seen her have before."

"Oh awesome."

Osamu grinned and snapped a picture. "Come on. Let's leave them alone before she gets scared." She stood, pulling Ritsuka with her.

"So where to next on Osamu's tour of cool things in Kyoto Elementary?"

"How about I show you where we first met?"

"Okay."

He followed her over to the swings. "The swings?"

"Yeah, at recess. It was like our second day of school in first grade?"

"I don't remember, you tell me."

She flushed. "Anyway, there were no open swings left but you got off and let me get on because you'd been on it for a while and wanted me to have a turn." She snapped a photograph of it. "You pushed me for a while until I stopped for someone else could use it. We've been best friends ever since. You went with me and my family on vacation that summer. We only went for a couple days so your parents wouldn't worry. To the beach. Have you been to the beach since you lost your memories?"

"No, everyone's too cautious about me getting hurt again." Ritsuka replied. "I just go to school, therapy, home, and for ice cream with Seimei sometimes."

"Well that's no fun. Oh, I know! This weekend, we should do something, okay?"

"Um…okay. I have to ask my parents first…"

"So ask and let me know tomorrow. This is exciting. Come on, let's go to my next Awesome Spot."

"Alright. Let's go."

He chased her back to the school, laughing all the way as worries about falling and hitting his head again slipped into the back of his mind.


	9. Summer

Dlbn: I know it's a little late in the week, but we're back with another chapter!

Nbld: Time for the Review Corner! Thank you to giselleavellaneda09, Fizzydrink101, halbarath, Promocat, and Sycocat2 for reviewing! Eggs and peeps for you all!

Giselleavellaneda09: She's a good friend to him…and really, the only one he's had since the incident.

Fizzydrink101: Thanks! She's just trying to be a good friend. If his mother starts anything against him, that's not really her fault.

Halbarath: For some reason he doesn't have an issue with it. It keeps Ritsuka out of the house and away from their mother when Seimei can't otherwise be there to protect them.

Promocat: Thanks. I'm pretty sure he feels some form of guilt. Or he's going to use this as an attempt to turn Ritsuka into the kind of person he needs/wants/can use in the future.

Sycocat2: She really is a good friend to him. Got that vibe in the manga, too. Aw I'm sorry :/ with Ritsuka, I think it's less a fear of losing his memories and more a fear of triggering his mother to do more.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of this. I only own the plot.

000

The January session of school went by pretty quickly for Ritsuka. Between his appointments with the therapist and various doctors, Photography Club, the arts fair, spending time with Seimei, and weekend trips with Osamu to the places they used to hang out in, he wasn't really paying attention as time slipped between his little fingers.

"I thought you were going to the beach today?" Osamu asked him over the phone.

"We were, but father had to work, so we can't go now." Ritsuka replied.

He was lying on the living room couch sideways, talking to Osamu on the house phone about his ruined plans.

"I was so excited about going, too. I haven't been since before my memories."

"You know what? We'll go together one day. Just you and me. We'll go swimming and eat ice cream and play on the boardwalk. It will be fun!" She laughed.

He laughed back. "I hope so. It's so hot. I'm going to take a cold bath later."

"Aw, little Ritsuka still takes bath."

"Shut up!" He laughed at her. "It will help me cool off."

"Or we could run through the sprinkler." Seimei offered.

Ritsuka almost fell off the couch as his brother startled him. "Seimei, don't do that!" He laughed. "I'm gonna go, Osamu. Seimei's home."

"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow. We still going to the park this weekend?"

"You know it!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Ritsuka hung up. "Hi, Seimei! Did you have fun while you were out?"

"Oh, lots of fun. But I couldn't wait to get back here to you."

"Why not? Don't you like spending time with your friends?"

"I do, but I have more fun here with you." Seimei winked.

"You're so weird."

"You know it." Seimei sat. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. It's too hot to move or do anything fun!"

"Hm…have you finished up your summer reading yet?"

"Yeah, like a week ago!" Ritsuka laughed. "The books sensei assigns are _so_ boring and easy to read. I read one of them in two days!"

"You're a good reader, Ritsuka."

"I don't like fourth grade books. I like the books you let me read better."

"You do?"

"Even though I don't understand all the words all the time, I like them better! It takes me longer to finish them. Sensei says my kanji is really good since I've been reading so many grownup books."

"That's great." Seimei stood. "I know what to do today, Ritsuka. Come on. I'll take you somewhere fun."

"Everywhere is fun if you're there, Seimei." Ritsuka laughed at him.

"I'm glad." Seimei hugged him. "We'll stop for ice cream on the way."

"Yay, ice cream!" Ritsuka launched himself off the couch. "Let's go!"

000

About half an hour later, Ritsuka stood in awe of the place Seimei had taken him to. It had started to cool down with the sun going behind some clouds and the threat of rain pressing on them. Seimei had borrowed their mother's cell phone so she could call them if she wanted them to come home or it started raining. While Ritsuka had an extended seven pm curfew, Seimei was still allowed out until nine and Ritsuka could stay out until eight if he was with his brother and not alone or with a friend. Though he was really never alone, since Seimei stalked him without their parents or Ritsuka knowing, and his parents generally didn't want him alone because of the memory loss and worry that it could happen again. Though it wouldn't; since Seimei now knew better to make plans to deal with his Fighters when Ritsuka was busy with Osamu or their parents and wouldn't overhear. Besides, thanks to Asitai's warning and scolding from Ritsu at the last meeting-via an online game called Wisdom Resurrection so Seimei didn't have to leave town-he knew better than to let his Fighter cast that spell ever again. That blank Fighter Soubi maybe, but definitely not his _real_ Fighter, Akame Nisei.

"Wow!" Ritsuka explained. "Where are we?"

"This is the _adult_ library. It's got all kinds of grown up books and magazines, but you stay away from them. Some people like to hide inappropriate ones in the magazines." Seimei stated. "I thought since your school books bore you, maybe we could find one or two here that you might like to read."

"Thanks, Seimei! You're the best!" Ritsuka hugged his brother tight.

"I sure am." Seimei stated. "Come on, let's go inside."

After a frantic call from their mother at six that there was a flooding warning for the area and checking out several books for both Aoyagi brothers to read, the two made their way home.

"I don't know which book to read first. They all look so great!" Ritsuka grinned. "Wait until my sensei and Osamu find out where I went! Osamu will be so jealous." He laughed.

Seimei smiled gently. "You better tell me how she reacts."

"Oh, I will!"

Silence passed as thunder began to roll overhead. Ritsuka crowded closer to Seimei as the elder popped an umbrella their mother had forced him to bring with them.

"Hey, Seimei?"

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"It's okay that we couldn't go to the beach today because of father."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He's almost never home, so I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

"Ritsuka…"

"But it's okay, because I've got you." Ritsuka stated. "And you take me all kinds of cool places. Like the park, and the ice cream shop, and the adult library!"

"Of course I do. I want you to have as much fun as possible, okay? You deserve it after all you've been through."

"You deserve to have fun, too, Seimei! You're always so nice to me and you spend time with me even when you could be out with friends. Or even with a girlfriend! Don't' teenagers go on dates and stuff like that?"

Seimei blushed a deep red. "I'm not exactly someone who liked physical contact, Ritsuka. That wouldn't be fair to a poor girl."

"But you don't mind when I hug you or hold your hand."

"You're different Ritsuka. You're not like other people."

"I'm not?"

"Of course not. You're like me." Seimei stated. "We're brothers. Best friends, right?"

"Right."

Rain began to come down in small droplets, making Ritsuka's tail cling to his leg to keep it dry.

"Aw man, it's raining." Ritsuka complained, ears dropping.

"I figured it was going to. We heard thunder, after all."

"Yeah, we did." Ritsuka agreed.

"Come on, let's hurry on home."

"Okay. Hey, Seimei?"

"Hai, Ritsuka?"

"Today was a great day. Even if we didn't go to the beach."

"Another time, Ritsuka. Another time."


	10. Celebration

Dlbn: Hey everyone! I know I'm a week late, but since this is a short update, I'll post two chapters its week to make up for it.

Nbld: Let's get onto the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat, giselleavellaneda09, halbarath, and Maki-Sensitivity. Flowers for you all!

Promocat: He's one hell of a faker, isn't he? Ritsuka only has good memories of him, so it's only natural for Seimei to act all nice and kind and loving in front of his brother.

Giselleavellaneda09: Thank you!

Halbarath: Thanks. I do too, even if its horribly twisted. I'm still not convinced completely that Seimei was behind that. I mean, he must have been, but it would make more sense if he Nisei went on his own because he was jealous of Ritsuka or something. If it was Seimei's idea, then it was probably to just get into the house and plant some spy cameras or something like that since we know Nisei spies on him with some kind of tech later on, and the killing him part was Nisei's doing. Then again, maybe it was Seimei wanting to turn Ritsuka against their mother so he'd only have him left. I don't know how Seimei's mind works, and honestly, I'm a bit afraid to know o.o Thanks for the review!

Maki-sensitivity: I figured it might be a topic that got Ritsuka nervous/embarrassed. Especially with how devoted he is to Seimei :3

Disclaimer; I own nothing but the plot. The rest belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of this. I DID however just get Loveless Mind Map in the mail today finally…can't read it since it's in Japanese, but pretty pictures _

000

Seimei seemed to be very surprised when Ritsuka presented him with a small chocolate cake and a card on November fourteenth that year.

"Ritsuka? What's all this?" He wondered.

"It's for you, silly! Do you know what today is?" Ritsuka replied, tail twitching enthusiastically.

"Do you…?"

"It's your birthday, Seimei!"

"You remember?"

"Of course I do! You told me after I lost my memory! I haven't forgotten anything since then!"

"I'm glad you haven't. Thank you, Ritsuka. This means a lot."

"After everything you've done for me, how can I not do something special for you, too?" Ritsuka grinned. "I hope you like the card. I made it myself."

"You did? How thoughtful." Seimei opened the card to read the inside.

 _Dear Seimei,_

 _Happy birthday! Thank you so much for all you do for me! I love you, Seimei!_

 _Love, Ritsuka_

"I love it."

Ritsuka grinned. "I know you like chocolate ice cream, so I thought chocolate cake was the best idea."

"It is, thank you. How thoughtful. Come, have some with me."

"Okay." Ritsuka handed Seimei two forks from behind his back.

"You were planning that."

"I was." Ritsuka grinned.

"Cheeky." Seimei smirked. "Dig in."

For only having the most basic of memories, Ritsuka knew how to celebrate the right way.


	11. Birthday

Dlbn: Hey, everyone! Here's that second chapter we promised for this week.

Nbld: Since it's so close to the next week, that means there will be another chapter coming up quickly. So let's get moving onto the Review Corner before we all lose our patience here. Thank you to halbarath, promocat, and giselleavellaneda09 for reviewing! Flowers for you all!

Halbarath: I can see him doing it. After all, he loves his big brother.

Promocat: It really does. Seimei was such a sweet older brother…I wonder what made him snap…or if it was all an act from the start…

Giselleavellaneda09: Isn't it? Ritsuka's adorable~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Everything else is property of Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category. I also found out from reading the interviews on the Kamibana page (the Loveless scanlation team), that one of them asked Yun Kouga if Ritsuka's real Fighter would ever show up, and she said yes but didn't reveal when. So exciting~

000

Snow was falling gently outside as Ritsuka was shaken awake by his brother. He moaned and pulled the covers over his head.

"Go away, Seimei! I'm sleepy!" he complained.

"But Ritsuka, don't you know what today is?" Seimei wondered softly. "Come on, little neko, wake up."

"I didn't sleep last night!" Ritsuka argued.

"My poor baby." Seimei cooed. "But don't you want your presents?"

"Presents?" Ritsuka sat up quickly. "But it's not Christmas yet…did I go into another coma for three days?!"

"Relax, kitten. It's not Christmas. It's December twenty-first."

"My…my birthday…? I…I didn't even notice it was coming up so soon…" Ritsuka rubbed his eyes. "No one seemed to really notice…it's so close to Christmas, I didn't think it was…"

"Didn't think it was what, Ritsuka?" Seimei wondered.

"I didn't think anyone celebrated it…"

Seimei frowned. "Your birthday is a very special day, Ritsuka. Whether mother thinks you're her Ritsuka or not, or father comes home at night or not, you're my Ritsuka and today is the day we celebrate your birth."

Ritsuka smiled gently. His mother had started yelling at him that he wasn't her real son when he'd do, eat, or say something he wouldn't have before the memory loss. His father stopped coming home often; always saying it was a tough case or a business trip keeping him away.

"Thank you, Seimei…"

"Now come on. I have a surprise for you downstairs."

"A surprise?" Ritsuka climbed out of bed, following his brother out of his room. "What kind of surprise?"

"If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Oh…yeah, that's true, I think." Ritsuka smiled gently.

"Surprise!" Voices he recognized shouted from the living room when he got off the staircase.

Ritsuka blinked in confusion. His parents were surprisingly both there, as were his slightly older cousin and her parents, and Osamu and her parents.

"What are you all doing here?" Ritsuka wondered.

"It's your birthday, silly!" Osamu laughed, jumping up from the couch "Seimei called us to come over and surprise you…why are you in pajamas…?"

"I didn't think to have him change." Seimei muttered.

"Do you ever think?" Their father wondered.

"Aidien." Their mother elbowed her husband in the side. "Happy birthday, Ritsuka."

"Thank you, mom."

"Now blow out the candles so we can go _home_." His cousin complained.

"Maeko!" Her father scolded.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes at the same time Seimei did.

"Make a wish, son." Mr. Kimizuka told him.

He blew out the candles on the cake that Osamu's father planted in front of his face, making a wish in his mind that he could get his memories back.


	12. Christmas

Dlbn: Hey everyone. We've forgotten to update…again…

Nbld: Meanwhile, we've been working on a Nisei birthday fic for May 16th, and we did put out This Means War so we've been a little busy.

Dlbn: And hoping to have updates of some old favorites by Sunday night. Saturday is graduation for my second associate's degree, so that takes away one day of writing and posting, but we still have until Sunday. Also, Kamibana has released finished scanlations of chapters 118 and 119 on their livejournal and website, as well as new non-completed up until chapter 120 on their livejournal and omfg, I don't know who's read it and who hasn't, but so much suspense and what a plot twist. I was crying. Not a bad cry.

Nbld: You're pathetic. Now, let's get started so they can read and not have to deal with us rambling, and we can get back to work on other things. Like Careless, Heaven Knows, and other stories in other categories. Review Corner! Thank you to giselleavellaneda09, Fizzydrink101, Promocat, and Halbarath for reviewing! Candy and cookies for you all!

Giselleavellaneda09: For once, and probably the only time from what it looks like. I don't know about Ritsuka's canon family in the manga outside of his brother and parents, but if anyone else was around to care, I think someone would have taken Ritsuka from his mother or at least stopped by once during the series but I digress.

Fizzydrink101: He's just adorable isn't he? :3 I don't trust Seimei much either but Ritsuka doesn't yet know what he's going to become so he doesn't.

Promocat: I feel like maybe his parents set that kind of thing up to try and jog his memory and when it didn't work, they gave up and didn't bother anymore. But Seimei _would_ be the one to step up to the plate and do all these nice things for Ritsuka. If for nothing else but to give him all good memories of him to use against him later.

Halbarath: I'd think he did it just to try and manipulate Ritsuka. Like 'look what good things I do for you. Love me, Ritsuka!' or something. Or his parents wanted him to do it to try and jog Ritsuka's memory, as I mentioned in another Review Corner answer up above. Hell, maybe even Seimei wanted to get some of his memory back with it. I feel like Seimei was trying to bind Ritsuka from him from the moment he was born. Not sure if he was aware of his powers or what he was at the time, or either of them were for that matter, but I feel like he's been using Ritsuka since he was born, really. Now that he can use spells (that's what it seems like anyway) and has Fighters that can do so, he's going to use that to his advantage. I don't know a single thing about what Seimei is planning, but from the new Scanlations I've downloaded and been reading, he doesn't seem to understand when things don't go his way so who knows what's going on with him. Maybe he's got some kind of dual personality thing going on like his mother? One is cold, cunning, and manipulative, and the other is sweet, loving, and doesn't really know what he's doing? I'm not sure.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I only really own the personality and name of Ritsuka's father, extended Aoyagi family, and both of Osamu's parents. I make NO money off of this.

Dedication: This is dedicated to the fact that a, I'm graduating again so congrats class of 2016 woot, woot! And b, I just ordered a Loveless fan art clock with little Soubi on it and I'm excited. And c, I got some new Loveless ringtones. The first battle with Ai and Midori is my ring tone, and their character song is my bf's ringtone but he barely calls on his cell to save mins so I'll probably never hear it but oh well.

000

His father wasn't home-surprise, surprise-and his mother was making a dinner that he was pretty certain was a trap. Seimei sat with Ritsuka in the living room, opening up small presents from their stockings that their mother had made them wait until last to open. Ritsuka got some candy, socks, a gift card, and school supplies. Seimei had gotten basically the same thing, but with a gift card to a game shop in the electronics district instead of a gift card to the local photography shop like Ritsuka had gotten. Osamu had given him a Christmas gift in school and he had opened it Christmas Eve when Seimei opened a gift he'd gotten from some friends. He seemed surprised his friends would get him anything at all. Seimei had gotten a popular video game from one friend and a gift card to a store he liked to shop for clothes in from another. Osamu's gift had been a scrapbooking kit complete with a scrapbook, paper, and stickers. After Osamu had taught him how to make one, Ritsuka had used his old one to the point where it was almost overflowing.

"Merry Christmas, Ritsuka." Seimei informed his little brother, pulling a small gift from behind the couch for him.

"Another gift?" Ritsuka wondered. "But Seimei…you didn't have to…I don't have another to give you…"

"I don't want anything in return." Seimei stated. "This is just a little thing I put together for you."

Ritsuka tore off the wrapping paper and found a photo album inside.

"A photo album?"

He had a lot of blank ones.

"Open it. It's special."

Ritsuka shrugged and did as he was told. The album wasn't blank with the others, but was already filled with photos he and Seimei had taken together since he lost his memory.

"It's full?"

"Since you don't have your old memories, I filled it with new memories." Seimei stated. "Everything that we've done together has been a first for you. We've celebrated with ice cream, and now it's time to look back on that year and remember all the new things you got to do."

"I still never got to go to the beach…" Ritsuka muttered sadly. "Thank you, Seimei. I love my present."

"You're welcome, Ritsuka. Anything for you."


	13. New Year

Dlbn: Hey everyone, I'm back! So I'm getting a wisdom tooth and one shattered tooth removed tomorrow so I don't know how long I'll be in pain and on meds for it and unable to write, so I figured I should do so now while I can. Plus, I have to have IV anesthesia to knock me out cuz I have dentist PTSD since the dentist I had as a kid was a mental terrorist who ripped all my teeth out and wouldn't let me go back to my parents into the waiting room until I stopped crying (couldn't get another dentist cuz he was the only one that took Medicaid and saw kids so I was tuck) so I'll probably have a panic attack if they don't knock me out completely. (I've had four already so what's one more, hm?) And since people can die from anesthesia and my luck is VERY low, who knows if I'll even wake up and be able to post again? Irony of tomorrow is the things they recommend to eat after the procedure are ice cream, yogurt, and Jello; all things chock full of sugar, which my dentist has banned me for having. Hypocrisy much? XD

Nbld: Paranoid fuck *secretly has the same fears* Let's march onto the Review Corner as my dog sits on my lap and make sit nearly impossible to type. Thanks Ruby, you ass. Thank you to Promocat and gisellavellaneda09 for reviewing. Candy for you both.

Promocat: Seimei messed up, so now he has to handle it the best way he can. By using his brother's amnesia against him. Sigh how evil, Seimei.

Gisellavellaneda09: Aw please don't die D:

Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make no money off writing in this category.

Dedication: In my universe, today is Nisei's birthday. Happy birthday you sociopath, you.

000

The rest of the month came and went. Now ten years old, Ritsuka felt like he went through more in that one year then he had in his entire life. From waking up in his coma to returning to school and meeting Osamu for the first time-again-and joining the Photography Club and celebrating both his birthday and Christmas for the first time-again-, he had had a pretty eventful year. As he stood with Seimei in the park waiting for the local fireworks show to ring in the new year with, Ritsuka shivered and huddled close to his brother. It was getting really chilly, but Ritsuka hadn't seen fireworks before-since he woke up, that is-and was pretty determined to stay up late and out in the cold to see them.

"Are you okay, Ritsuka?" Seimei wondered.

"Just a little cold." Ritsuka complained.

A hot beverage with cardboard around it to protect him was placed in his hand. Ritsuka looked up to see a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling down at him.

"Greetings, Seimei." He greeted his brother. "I got your message."

Seimei grunted in reply. "Thanks." He stated.

"Who are you?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Agatsuma Soubi." The blonde replied. "I'm a friend of Seimei's."

"But you're an adult…?"

"Yes?"

Ritsuka blinked. "O-Okay…thank you for the drink. That's very nice of you."

"My pleasure."

"Soubi was just going to stop by and say hello." Seimei stated. "Don't you have a friend to be with or something? That green haired guy that's always up your rear?"

Soubi flushed. "Kio?" He asked. "I ditched him in the crowd." Soubi hung his head, muttering an apology.

"Whatever. Thanks, now go away."

"Hai. Nice to see you, Ritsuka."

"Thank you, Soubi…"

As Soubi left, he could hear Ritsuka's voice behind him; "you should be nicer to your friends, Seimei!". Fireworks blasted into the sky as the blonde walked off to find Kio, hoping he wasn't _too_ mad at him.


	14. Beating

Dlbn: Welcome to another chapter! Was going to update over the weekend, but I went to a three-day rock festival with my sister, nephew, and brother in law, so I didn't have time. (I didn't sleep there, I went home Friday and Saturday night but I worked Sunday) Got to meet Pop Evil (again. I go to every one of their shows that comes near where I live but the first time I saw them I met them cuz I bought something from the merch table for them and was one of the first 50 to do so, so my and a friend got to go meet them), Hollywood Undead, and Halestorm and get their autographs so that was awesome.

Nbld: It was a ton of fun, even if we did get our asses handed to us courtesy of moshers and crowd surfers.

Dlbn: True. Also, my dental surgery went well, except the damn morons didn't bother to tell me I had stitches so when I saw one coming out from one tooth and found the other one floating in my mouth a couple days later cuz it came out, I was like wtf? Idiots. Only tooth that bothers me is the one near where they gave me novicane. Must have hit a nerve or something. Once again *sigh* idiots.

So let's kick it into high gear while we watch the ending of Houdini and Doyle and start the Review Corner! Thank you to giselleavellaneda09, Promocat, and halbarath for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Giselleavellaneda09: Aw it's okay. He'll pop up every so often in here if needed.

Promocat: He's baaack! ;) Seimei probably told him he wasn't allowed to say anything or something. It's something Seimei would do and since it's an order, Soubi won't refuse it.

Halbarath: Maybe Ritsuka fell for him back then and didn't even realize it ;) No, I'm kidding. He's just a really nice kid and doesn't appreciate/tolerate rudeness. I've explained it in other fics, but it's briefly mentioned (since it's also in a few of my other fics) in a later chapter here too, so I won't say anything here. Thanks for the cheering up. If we had a blender, I'd do that lol I've been eating ice cream and pudding anyway cuz they said it was fine, so my dentist can get over it. I brush my teeth after I eat and stuff so I should be okay.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but minor characters that aren't canon and don't really appear here, so no worries. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NOTHING out of writing in this category.

Dedication: This is dedicated to the people I was hanging with at the concert this weekend when Five Finger Death Punch was playing. I got kicked hard and this woman behind me pulled me in front of her and her husband so I wouldn't get hurt again, and the two girls on the side of me worked with me to protect one another from crowd surfers and the mosh pit that started in front of us. I know you'll never read this, but thanks everyone!

000

Insults and curses flew from Misaki's mouth as Ritsuka ran around the house to escape her. She threw plates and various other items as she shouted, running after him. After the third lap around the downstairs, Ritsuka ran up towards his room. No, that was the first place she'd look for him. Instead he went into Seimei's room and shut and locked the door behind her. Seimei…where was Seimei? He knew waiting for his father wouldn't do him any good. It wasn't like he was coming home any time soon. But where was Seimei? Normally his brother would be home by now from hanging with his friends. It was a Sunday, so there was no school for either of the brothers. What was keeping Seimei so long? And more importantly, why was his mother _doing_ this? She kept saying he wasn't her Ritsuka and ordering him to give the old Ritsuka back. What had he done wrong? Ritsuka replayed the entire day over in his mind but couldn't pinpoint what had made her snap. Had he said something wrong? Done something? Eaten something? Maybe it was something he didn't do or say or eat when he should have. She tended to give him traps like that. but it never got to the point where he was hiding from his own mother in his brother's room because his own room was too obvious of a hiding spot and his parents' room was off limits. Ritsuka dove into Seimei's closet; careful not to make any noise as he heard his mother tearing apart his bedroom and shouting for him to stop hiding.

Like the first time he had heard his parents fight, Ritsuka covered his human ears, flattened his neko ones, and closed his eyes. he didn't mutter any apologies this time, knowing it would make her try to break into Seimei's room if she was able to hear him over all her shouting and throwing things. He heard the front door open and felt relief wash over him. Seimei. Seimei was home! He heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.

"Mother?" Seimei's voice wondered. "What are you doing to Ritsuka's room?"

"That _thing_ is _not Ritsuka_!" Their mother countered. "My Ritsuka is gone! That _thing_ took over his body and won't give him back!"

He heard what sounded like a slap and all went quiet.

"I should get to dinner…now…"

"No, mother, you should rest. I'll feed Ritsuka and me." Seimei argued. "Go to bed and take a nap. You've had a long day and you need to de-stress."

"Yes…sleep…good idea…"

Ritsuka sat in the closet, listening to his mother make her way past the room and down the stairs.

"Ritsuka?" Seimei's voice asked. "Where are you?"

Ritsuka left the safety of the closet. "I'm here, Seimei…I knew she'd look in there…I…"

The doorknob jiggled.

"It's me, Ritsuka. Let me in, please. It's my room, after all."

Ritsuka did as Seimei asked. The door opened as Seimei stepped in. The elder brother closed the door behind him. Once Ritsuka heard the lock turn into place, he leapt into his brother's arms.

"Seimei!" He cried. "You were so late and I was so worried!"

"It's okay, Ritsuka. You're safe now. Did she hurt you?"

"My cheek…and my arm…"

"Alright, I'll clean you up." Seimei wiped away the tears. "Poor baby. What happened?"

"I…I don't know!" Ritsuka sobbed. "Everything was fine, and then the next second she snapped at me and started yelling and throwing things…"

"I saw the mess downstairs. What made her mad?"

"I don't know, Seimei!" Ritsuka cried. "I must have done something wrong…it's my fault…"

Seimei gripped him by the arms and pulled him away a little.

"Don't you think that, kitten." He ordered. "There is nothing in this world that you could do that would make _that_ acceptable. Mother is sick. Her medicine makes her do funny things. That's not your fault."

Seimei fixed Ritsuka's hair and unlocked the door. He pulled the frightened neko into the bathroom across the hall and locked it. Pulling down a first aid kit, he made Ritsuka sit on the toilet while he got the supplies. He got out ointment and bandages.

"You're going to stay in my room tonight, okay? I want you by my side all night so I can protect you." He ruffled Ritsuka's hair, pushing bangs out of his face. "When mother gets that way, I want you to run. If I'm not home, go outside. If I'm home, come find me. I won't let her hurt you, Ritsuka. I promise."

"You promise?" Ritsuka sniffed, pulling up his sleeve to show where his mother had hit him.

There was a very light bruise where a fist had landed, but only his cheek had been cut by a flying object she had thrown.

"I promise, Ritsuka. I'll always be here for you."


	15. Valentine's Day

Dlbn: Hey there everyone! Was going to update over the weekend but my mom had a minor heart attack Sunday morning so I was with her all day and when I got home I was too tired to do anything so there's a bit of a delay here.

Nbld: Mom is doing fine. They removed the problem and a blood clot that might cause a future problem. She's back to nagging and not understanding that she's not the only patient on the floor and needs to wait until the nurse is done with another patient to help her too. Yes, she's one of those people. Now, let's get moving with the Review Corner. Thank you to Fizzydrink101, giselleavellandea09, Promocat, and halbarath for reviewing! Candy and squirt guns for you all.

Fizzydrink101: It pretty much is lol Thanks!

Giselleavellandea09: Sadness for Ritsuka and his pain and anger at his mother for being nuts? Maybe? Lol Aw thanks! That means a lot :3

Promocat: Ritsuka can only do what he knows how to do, and that's to do what Seimei says. After all, since his memory loss, Seimei is the only one that's been trying to help him. Hs mother's distant and father's out screwing random chicks or whatever the hell he's doing…probably screwing random chicks. At this point he _could_ go to Osamu's place but I doubt he would. He wouldn't want to leave Seimei anyway. In the future he could go to Soubi's. But I think he would rather cling to the one family member that's still alive and around post-Seimei's death. After all, his father only showed up in the manga for like one page. Can't imagine he's around a lot.

Halbarath: A little bit I think. I'm trying to recall the scene but I can't ^^" With his mother, it's more that she's hopelessly devoted to him. After all, he did promise her that he'd take her and Ritsuka away from their father and protects Ritsuka when she knows she can't and her husband won't. He's beyond pissed off but he's not going to show it to her. He's got to be the good, respectful little boy she thinks he is if he wants to keep fooling her.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but the plot, all twelve published (so far) manga, copies of scanlations I got offline, and a beautiful young Soubi clock I bought on EBay. Woot, woot. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.

000

Ritsuka set a pile of boxes of chocolates and other candies with store-bough cards on the kitchen table as his mother had instructed. Seimei did the same.

"Valentine's Day is so weird." Ritsuka stated. "You give people cards and candy and that makes them happy and feel special?"

Seimei nodded. "I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day or White Day, honestly." He stated. "Such a hassle. Did you give out your cards and candy today?"

"Sure did. We all had mailboxes we made to put cards in. Osamu made her own card for me that looks like a camera."

"How nice."

Ritsuka grinned. "Yeah. She's a good friend."

"Just a friend?"

"Yeah, what else would she be?" Ritsuka's ear twitched.

"Well with how much time you spend together and how she puts together personalized gifts for you…"

"Personalized?"

"Gifts made that would appeal to you and you only."

"Oh…"

"I'd say she's more of a girlfriend."

"Of course she is." Ritsuka laughed. "She's a girl and she's my friend. You're weird, Seimei."

"You asked me once if I had a girlfriend, do you remember?"

"Hai?"

"That's what I'm asking you. Is Osamu your girlfriend?"

"No!" Ritsuka's ears flattened in embarrassment as he slammed his hands on the table. "Don't be so weird, Seimei!"

"But you like the fact that I'm weird."

"Not this kind of weird!"

Seimei chuckled, ruffling Ritsuka's hair. "Gomen."

"It's okay." Ritsuka's flush waned. "One of the girls made homemade chocolates this year."

"Oh, her. She does that every year."

"Really? That's nice. But they're for everyone, not just me! So don't ask if she's my girlfriend too, okay, Seimei?"

"Okay, okay." Seimei handed his brother a peanut butter cup. "Trade for a bag of M&M's."

"Deal!"


	16. Secret

Dlbn: I'm back! We're getting pretty close to the end of this story already (sad face) but I'm getting back to work on Careless so that should be updated soon and hopefully get going at a good pace.

Nbld: It's been a rather busy week or two for us.

Dlbn: Yes. Mom had an acute heart attack and my son's birthday was yesterday, and we had his birthday party the day before (I actually got a day off work. Gasp!) And yesterday his dad took us to Menchies. Luke loves Menchies.

Nbld: So let's not waste any time and get started with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and giselleavellaneda09 for reviewing! Birthday cake for you both!

Promocat: Seimei needs to back off a bit. Sure Ritsuka doesn't sees it as him being a good big brother looking out for him. But in the end, Seimei just wants to control him. Bad Seimei. Leave your brother for Soubi.

Giselleavellaneda09: Thank you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Loveless other than the manga and some swag. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of this work of fiction.

Note: For some reason this site keeps saying that the document wasn't in the correct MS Word format when it was and refused to accept it even though I made a whole new file and saved it and tried again so I had to copy and paste. Let me know if there's any format errors when you read. Thanks!

000

"I'll tell you my true name." Seimei informed.

"True name…?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Yes. A name that was decided for me before I was born. You can call it destiny if you want."

"Okay…?"

"But you can't tell anyone, alright? It's a secret."

"Secret…?" Ritsuka asked. "Well, okay, I won't tell anyone."

"Good." Seimei smiled gently.

"How will I know my true name, Seimei?" Ritsuka wondered.

"In due time you will find out. When the time is right. You'll just know."

"I'll know? Okay, Seimei. If you say so."

"Just don't forget it, okay, Ritsuka? Don't forget my true name. Ever."

"I won't tell, Seimei!" Ritsuka's ears perked. "What is it? What is it?"

"Beloved."

"Beloved?"

"One who is loved." Seimei explained further. "That is my true name, and it must be a secret. No one else can know, okay?"

"Hai, Seimei." Ritsuka smiled. "You know; I think that's a good name for you."

"You do?" Seimei's ear twitched. "Why…?"

"Because everyone loves Seimei! I love Seimei, mom loves Seimei…I like Seimei better than I like Ritsuka."

"Don't say that." Seimei frowned.

"But it's true, Seimei. If I wasn't here, it would be better for everyone…"

"I am nothing without you, Ritsuka." Seimei snapped. "I would not be better off without you here. Don't you ever say that to me again. You got it?"

"H-Hai…g-gomen…nii-san…"

Seimei sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you, Ritsuka-kun." He stated. "Just don't say those things, okay?"

"Okay…"

"And never forget my true name."

"I won't, Seimei. Never!"

"What is it?"

"Beloved. One who is loved." Ritsuka smiled. "It's a beautiful name, Seimei. How could I ever forget it?"

"Hai…how indeed…"


	17. Body

Dlbn: Hey everyone, I'm back from vacation in New Jersey with a new chapter.

Nbld: This chapter comes at a rather ironic and sad time in our lives. Wednesday July 6th, my mother passed away at 8:15 PM while my aunt and cousins and I were still in Jersey on vacation. We didn't get to see her before she passed, but she was very well loved and we will miss her. The wake is this weekend (Sunday), so I'm going to spit fire the chapters that are relative. One now, one Sunday, and one Monday after the burial.

Dlbn: So let's get on with the fic.

Nbld: Thank you to giselleavellaneda09, Promocat, and halbarath for reviewing. Candy for you all.

Giselleavellaneda09: That we are. Sorry for the sinking feeling ^^"

Promocat: It probably would be much better for him if he could forget a lot of the things he knows now.

Halbarath: Welcomes. You mean when they reunite at the (SPOILER) in one of the newer books, or a different time? It's so weird. I saved it as a text and did it that way.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but miscellaneous background characters. Everyone else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.

Dedication: To my wonderful, crazy, fun loving, lounging around, silly mother. Luke and I both miss you mom /3

000

Other than scream, Ritsuka wasn't sure what to do when he saw it. Sitting in his desk in his classroom was what looked like a skeleton, but the bones were blackened with ash. The head was thrown back and the jaw was open in a hellish looking scream. Sensei rushed in and urged Ritsuka and the others out of the classroom as someone frantically shouted to call the police. School was canceled for the day and kids were sent either back to school or to the nearby after-school events center if their parents weren't home yet. Ritsuka told the police what had happened and was allowed to go home.

"Can I go to your house, Osamu?" Ritsuka wondered. "Mom won't be happy if I come home and won't believe me about what happened."

 _And will beat me._

"Sure." Osamu smiled. "We can do some scrapbooking. I've been having trouble with this one page I've been working on for weeks."

"Cool." Ritsuka smiled gently.

His mother had been furious when he returned home, having gotten call from Osamu's mother explaining what had happened at the school and that Ritsuka was over. The sting of her words and her fists and the things she threw at him didn't hurt as bad as it hurt when he hid in Seimei's closet again, and his brother never came to find him.


	18. Death

Dlbn: Hey there everyone. I originally planned on putting all the death ones out near the funeral, but things got too crazy between all that, my friends coming over to check up on me and hang out, Pokemon Go adventures, and other shit.

Nbld: So let's get on with the Review Corner and get to the story quicker. Thank you to giselleavellandea09, halbarath, Fizzydrink101, and Promocat for reviewing! Cake for you all!

Giselleavellandea09: Sorry I left you speechless ^^"

Halbarath: Seimei's death pretty much destroyed him like Soubi leaving did, I think. Thank you very much.

Fizzydrink101: I hate to torture him so, but Seimei's death left a hole. Poor baby.

Promocat: Agreed. Stupid Seimei's plots…

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but the plot and Osamu's father. Everyone and everything else is canon and does not belong to me. I make NO money off of this work of fiction.

000

Three days…it had been three days since Ritsuka saw Seimei last. Where in the world could he have gone? For three days his mother paced in the living room, stopping only to shout at her husband when he insisted that she stopped doing so or to throw something at Ritsuka when he dared to call her 'mother'. Three nights he sat up in bed, unable to sleep, straining his ears to hear the front door open and for Seimei to come through giving off apologies and excuses for why he wasn't home. Three days his father came home right after work and stopped his wife from hurting their youngest son whenever she'd act up in front of him. Three days of beatings between school ending and his father coming home since he had no plans with Osamu. Three days he waited for an hour after school for Seimei to show up and bring him home and explain himself. Three days and Seimei never called. Three days and Seimei never picked him up. Three days and Seimei never came home late at night. Three days and Seimei wasn't there to protect Ritsuka like he had promised. He'd promised, damn it! He'd _promised_!

On the fourth day without Seimei around, a knock on the door shattered the family dinner that Ritsuka and his parents were sharing. It was strange, having them both home…seeing his father at all. His father answered the door, leaving Ritsuka alone with his mother for a few agonizing, fearful moments. Just when she was about to pick up a fork and do God knew what with it, his father called her into the living room.

Ritsuka waited a few minutes after she left to eat something he knew her Ritsuka didn't like, but he did, and crept to the hallway between the living room and kitchen to listen in. The door was shut and there was a police officer standing there. Ritsuka recognized him as Osamu's dad, the chief. But why was he here? Ritsuka's first thoughts went to Seimei. The school had noticed his absence and called. Or he'd been found after an accident or getting sick or lost and he was okay.

"I'm sorry, Aidien, Misaki…" Osamu's father stated, taking off his hat.

"No…" Misaki breathed. "Don't…don't tell me what I think you're going to tell me…"

"The body your son discovered…"

His father paled and Ritsuka felt something akin to the dread he felt when his mother began lashing out wash over him.

"Our dental comparison has confirmed…it's Seimei…"

"No!" His mother fell to her knees, sobbing. "He can't be gone…he can't be!"

His father was as stoned faced as ever, but Ritsuka could tell from his stance that he was feeling _something_ about the news…whatever he was feeling would be a mystery for Ritsuka for years to come.

"S-Seimei…? That was Seimei…?" Ritsuka wondered, rushing in. "It can't be! You're wrong! Seimei promised he'd always be here…he promised!"

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka." Osamu's father knelt to his level and gave him a hug before hugging his mother. "I wanted to be the one to tell you instead of my deputies. Does Seimei have any enemies?"

"Everyone loves Seimei!" Ritsuka informed, remembering the secret his brother had told him about his true name. "Why would someone do this…?"

It wasn't until after Chief Kimizuka departed in his cruiser and his father stormed out of the house without a word that the gravity of what had happened hit Ritsuka like a ton of bricks. Or more like the heavy encyclopedia his formerly grieving mother was striking him in the head with. He ran again hiding in his brother's closet even though he heard his mother sobbing downstairs instead of chasing after him. Still, he locked himself inside and hugged Seimei's pillow tight. But Seimei promised he'd always be there. He promised he'd protect Ritsuka from their mother. He promised…

As his tears dried hours later, Ritsuka vowed to find whoever was responsible and bring them hell.


	19. Funeral

Dlbn: I promise I'm not dead, guys, really.

Nbld: No guarantees.

Dlbn: Shut up. Anyway, long hiatus explained. You all know my mother passed from a heart attack in July, but a month ago yesterday my aunt died in a car accident resulting from a heart attack as well. Been living with my cousin on weekends, have had babysitter issues, school issues, relationship issues…

Nbld: Everything is a big issue with us at this point. I also got a second job, so there goes 99% of writing and free time. Might as well post today since I start tomorrow night and won't be able to get on the computer during the day because my son likes to try and break it.

Dlbn: So, will probably update on weekends at work since there's never anything else to do here anyway.

Nbld: Also, somehow a TOTALLY DIFFERENT FIC ended up being uploaded for chapter nineteen…sooo I'm gonna put up the REAL one now. I'll still respond to the old reviews here. Please don't get confused. That was just a stupid mistake.

Dlbn: Very stupid.

Nbld: So let's move onto the Review Corner. Thank you to SleeplessForest27, FizzyDrink101, and Promocat for reviewing! Candy and pumpkins for you all!

SleeplessForest27: His family has no sense of emotion, I swear to god. Bunch of jerks. That chapter was a mistake, I apologize!

FizzyDrink101: I'm sorry for your loss as well. Thank you very much. Sorry that chapter was a mistake. ^^"

Promocat: Seimei is all about control, mostly of Ritsuka. Poor boy is basically screwed.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but plot. All canon people, places, things, terms, etc. in this fic belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing in this category.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to the passing of my aunt a month and one day ago. Doesn't feel like that long, but it is. We miss you, Moo. Yes, I called her Moo…don't ask why. I forgot.

000

It wasn't right. Standing here all in black with his parents, talking to all these people that knew Seimei and some he was supposed to recognize as family but didn't, mourning Seimei. _Seimei_. Murdered by fire in an elementary school classroom. If Ritsuka closed his eyes and willed it all away, then maybe, just _maybe_ , he'd wake up and find out he had slipped into another coma where he dreamt that the one person who had cared about him through all of this had died because of a subconscious fear of Seimei leaving. But as he saw his mother shed tears, his father remained stoic, and heard tales and words of sympathy regarding Seimei from the mouths of all of the strangers in the room, he knew that this was not a fear-induced coma dream of sorts. No, it was reality and he had to deal with it.

He was only a little surprised when the blonde he'd met just a few minutes before this year started and the last ended showed up at the funeral. It wouldn't be until minutes later when he'd forget about exploding windows, and the mysterious blonde that erased his memory of his existence.


	20. Move

Dlbn: Hey everyone! So chapter nineteen was a TOTALLY DIFFERENT FIC I somehow updated with instead of a new chapter.

Nbld: But we fixed it. However, I don't know if it sent out alerts, so I'm gonna rush right onto this one. GO ahead and read chapter nineteen. I'll reply to all reviews for that and this one next chapter. Chapter nineteen reviews for the mistake are still there and were replied to last chapter.

Dlbn: Without further ado, let's begin!

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but plot. All canon people, places, things, terms, etc. in this fic belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing in this category.

000

Ritsuka stared at boxes upon boxes of his family's personal items were systematically put into a white moving truck alongside all the house's furniture that hadn't been sold to make money for the move. He held all his memories in albums in a backpack slung over his shoulder. He didn't trust the movers with something so precious to him. The rest of his stuff he didn't care about since he wasn't as emotionally attached to things he owned before he lost his memory as the memories he had made with Seimei afterwards. His father was ordering the movers around while his mother checked to make certain they weren't forgetting anything or leaving anything behind.

His throat tightened and his mouth ran dry as movers carried boxes past him labeled 'Seimei's room' in sloppy handwriting that his mother had started and he had finished when it became too much for her. There were so many new memories in this house-his only memories of the house-and he was certain he'd miss living here. But the memories of Seimei were getting to be too much for his mother's already fragile mind, and there was far too much room for a woman, her son, and the husband that came home once or twice a month. He could do without the memories of his mother beating and chasing him, and the ones of hiding in his and Seimei's bedroom closets and crying and praying to whatever could hear him that he would get his memories back or die before his mother could get to him inside. He'd tried to talk to his father about it, but Aidien had simply brushed him off and attributed his mother's mood swings to her new medicines, and that was that. They were moving to a smaller house in Tokyo, meaning he wouldn't be going to his school in Kyoto with Osamu anymore. The commute was too far for him to make it to and from school every day with time to sleep and eat in between travels. He didn't want to leave, but he knew that he had to.

Seimei was everywhere in that home. From the wall where markings stated how tall the boys were growing to a stain on the hallway carpet where Seimei had spilt some juice he'd been bringing to Ritsuka when he was sick, there wasn't a space in the home that didn't have some memory or mark of Seimei attached. Not including the mantle over the fireplace where the urn containing his ashes had been sitting since the funeral a month and a half ago. His remains had already been all but completely destroyed by the fire, so cremation was a more logical decision for the family. Though there was still a small burial plot marked for him where he would have laid had they put the body in the ground.

Kyoto itself was full of Seimei. Ritsuka couldn't go back to the ice cream parlor again or take the long route home, or go to the adult library or even go near Seimei's old high school. There was always someone to offer words of sympathy and memories of Seimei to flood back and haunt him in his sleep wherever he went. Perhaps leaving town _was_ for the best. It would be painful to tell Osamu on his last day of school the next day, but it had to be done. For the night, they'd stay at a hotel so the new owners of the home could move in and get comfortable. His parents felt it best that he ended his days in Kyoto Elementary School on a Friday so he could be in the new school at the start of a new week. Personally, he wanted to have a couple days to himself in the new house before going to school, but the sooner he was in a new school, the sooner he was away from his mother and her abuse.

The moving truck started up and drove off into the sunset to deliver the Aoyagis' stuff to their new home.

"Ritsuka?" His father wondered. "Come on, get in the car. We have to check in within the hour or we're sleeping in the car for tonight."

"Okay…" Ritsuka replied, joining his father.

He slung his backpack into the backseat before joining it. His father shut the trunk of the car, albeit with some difficulty due to the bags of clothing and other small items they'd need in the room for the night. Ritsuka was hoping his father wouldn't leave him alone with his mother, but knowing his father's 'work', that was likely to happen. As the car pulled out of the driveway and started down the road, Ritsuka tuned out the arguing of his parents and focused on looking for the memories of Seimei along the way that he'd never be reminded of in person again.


End file.
